Embracing The Different Seasons Of Our Lives
You might have noticed that things have been a little bit quieter than normal around here recently. It’s something I hadn’t really planned for, but looking at my blog homepage, it’s clear to see that I haven’t been churning out posts at my typical rate. Without really even noticing, I’ve gone from publishing 4 or 5 posts a week, to averaging 2 or 3 at best. For once, my slower than usual posting schedule isn’t due to lack of inspiration - in fact, I have a whole notebook filled with lists and ideas for content that I want to create. I have hundreds of photos from the past few months to share with you all, and at least 15 half written blog posts sitting in my drafts on Wordpress
And yet, for some reason, blogging has slipped to the bottom of my to do list. It hasn’t been an intentional shift, but since returning from our holiday a few weeks ago, other things have been a bigger priority for me. I’ve had a lot on at work, and have been thoroughly enjoying the buzz and pace that comes with managing some pretty exciting projects. I’ve spent a lot of time away from home, both at our office in London, and visiting friends and family dotted around the UK. And I’ve been fully committed to enjoying this delicious summer that we’ve been having.
I don’t want to go all typical Brit on you and drone on about the weather, but I think we can all agree that this continued sunshine we’ve been treated to over the past few weeks is better than anything we’ve experienced in recent years, and I have been well and truly embracing it. I love blogging and everything it has brought into my life, but during the past month or so, I’ve found myself putting my laptop away at the end of the working day, and opting to live in the moment instead.
I’ve traded evenings at my desk for BBQs in the back garden, and the late nights spent blogging have been shunned in favour of Love Island catch ups or Aperol spritzes drank on rooftop terraces. Instead of worrying about the list of content I need to create or my dwindling blog stats, I’ve been living my life in real time and enjoying every minute.
A year ago, this unintentional pause would have totally freaked me out. I would have been fretting about my blog traffic, or worrying that I was undoing all of the momentum and opportunity that I’ve worked so hard to create. But do you know what? I’m really not worrying about it, and that’s because I’ve learnt that it’s okay to embrace the different seasons of our life.
You see, we’re humans, not robots. We can’t expect ourselves to perform to the same levels of productivity week in, week out, and we shouldn’t be putting pressure on ourselves to sustain a constant upward trajectory. Life doesn’t work that way - we operate in peaks and troughs, taking two steps forward and one step back, and that’s okay. Different areas of our lives take precedence at different times, and that is totally normal.
I spent the first 5 months of this year working my arse off. I started a brand new job, wrote and launched a 30,000+ word e-course and secured partnerships with some pretty huge brands, all while creating 4 blog posts and a newsletter every week. It felt great to be in a new groove of productivity and to be working on so many projects that I genuinely loved, but other areas of my life suffered in the process.
And so for now, I’m shifting my attention. I’m slowing down on the work front, and dedicating more time to fun and sunshine and friendship and family and spontaneity and creativity just for the sake of it. I refuse to feel guilty about squeezing every last drop of fun out of this summer. Because I know that in a few months time, when the weather is freezing and hibernation makes sitting at my desk 10 times easier, I’ll find my mojo again. And I know that all these memories that I’m making right now will fill me back up again, charging my batteries and refuelling my soul.